Question
Are birds affected by the smell of their feeder? Hypothesis
I don't think birds will care how the feeders smell because they don't have a very good sense of smell. Procedure
Put some vanilla extract on one feeder, rose geranium oil on another feeder, keep one plain and hang them up in the yard. Reapply the scents throughout the experiment and wait to see if the birds care if the feeders smell weird. Independent variables
In this experiment the birds are acting as my independent variable. Dependent variables
My dependent variables are the smells of the feeders, and the feeders themselves. Background information
The short answer to my question, "do birds have a sense of smell?" was yes, but it wasn't that great. The longer answer is they have the ability to smell, although the sense isn't very well developed. Because of that, birds don't rely on their sense of smell to find food very often. I figured that if I used enough of a strong smell the birds might notice.
The state bird of North Carolina, the Cardinal
I came up with this question one day when I was at my grandma's house. She has three bird feeders that are spread out across the yard. Two of them were being used more then the third and I was wondering if that was because the neighbors' cat had been near two the two feeders the birds weren't visiting earlier. My goal for this experiment is to see if the birds care if the feeders strongly smell like vanilla or rose geranium oil. Materials
The materials I used to make my bird feeders (I wanted to make sure the birds didn't associate the feeders with the cat) included three recycled plastic bottles, three q-tips, hot glue, six chop sticks, vanilla extract, rose geranium oil, a utility knife, and some fishing line.
From left to right: Unscented, rose geranium, vanilla, and unscented hanging from a candle holder
Details of Experiment
Because of the rain, I didn't get to keep the experiment going for as long as I would have liked. The feeders were kept out for five days before they were brought in. I measured the amount of seed eaten by dumping the remaining seeds into a measuring cup and subtracting however much was in there from the original one cup of bird seed. For the two feeders I couldn't accurately measure I guessed based on how low the seed had gotten. Unfortunately my schedule didn't allow time for me to see the birds visiting my feeders. Results
The feeder with the most bird seed was the vanilla scented feeder. Out of the one cup of bird seed in each of the feeders, approximately one fourth of a cup was eaten from the vanilla scented feeder, two teaspoons from the unscented feeder, and one tablespoon from the rose geranium oil scented feeder.
Vanilla
Unscented
Rose Geranium
Beginning of week
1 cup
1 cup
1 cup
End of week
3/4
7/8
15/16
Conclusion
The results relatively supported my hypothesis because the feeders were scented. The vanilla was fainter then the rose geranium oil, and to really determine how the birds would react to the scents, other experiments would have to be carried out. From my experiment, I have gathered that the common birds in the Durham area don't have that great a sense of smell.
Bibliography Winter-Hebert, Catherine. "DIY: How to Make a Bird Feeder From a Plastic Bottle!" Inhabitat Sustainable Design Innovation Eco Architecture Green Building DIY How to Make a Bird Feeder From a Plastic Bottle Comments. N.p., 9 Sept. 2014. Web. 21 Sept. 2015. Hampel, Trevor. "Do Birds Have Sense of Smell?" Trevor's Birding. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2015. <http://www.trevorsbirding.com/do-birds-have-sense-of-smell/>.
Are birds affected by smell?
Question
Are birds affected by the smell of their feeder?
Hypothesis
I don't think birds will care how the feeders smell because they don't have a very good sense of smell.
Procedure
Put some vanilla extract on one feeder, rose geranium oil on another feeder, keep one plain and hang them up in the yard. Reapply the scents throughout the experiment and wait to see if the birds care if the feeders smell weird.
Independent variables
In this experiment the birds are acting as my independent variable.
Dependent variables
My dependent variables are the smells of the feeders, and the feeders themselves.
Background information
The short answer to my question, "do birds have a sense of smell?" was yes, but it wasn't that great. The longer answer is they have the ability to smell, although the sense isn't very well developed. Because of that, birds don't rely on their sense of smell to find food very often. I figured that if I used enough of a strong smell the birds might notice.
I came up with this question one day when I was at my grandma's house. She has three bird feeders that are spread out across the yard. Two of them were being used more then the third and I was wondering if that was because the neighbors' cat had been near two the two feeders the birds weren't visiting earlier. My goal for this experiment is to see if the birds care if the feeders strongly smell like vanilla or rose geranium oil.
Materials
The materials I used to make my bird feeders (I wanted to make sure the birds didn't associate the feeders with the cat) included three recycled plastic bottles, three q-tips, hot glue, six chop sticks, vanilla extract, rose geranium oil, a utility knife, and some fishing line.
Details of Experiment
Because of the rain, I didn't get to keep the experiment going for as long as I would have liked. The feeders were kept out for five days before they were brought in. I measured the amount of seed eaten by dumping the remaining seeds into a measuring cup and subtracting however much was in there from the original one cup of bird seed. For the two feeders I couldn't accurately measure I guessed based on how low the seed had gotten. Unfortunately my schedule didn't allow time for me to see the birds visiting my feeders.
Results
The feeder with the most bird seed was the vanilla scented feeder. Out of the one cup of bird seed in each of the feeders, approximately one fourth of a cup was eaten from the vanilla scented feeder, two teaspoons from the unscented feeder, and one tablespoon from the rose geranium oil scented feeder.
Conclusion
The results relatively supported my hypothesis because the feeders were scented. The vanilla was fainter then the rose geranium oil, and to really determine how the birds would react to the scents, other experiments would have to be carried out. From my experiment, I have gathered that the common birds in the Durham area don't have that great a sense of smell.
Bibliography
Winter-Hebert, Catherine. "DIY: How to Make a Bird Feeder From a Plastic Bottle!" Inhabitat Sustainable Design Innovation Eco Architecture Green Building DIY How to Make a Bird Feeder From a Plastic Bottle Comments. N.p., 9 Sept. 2014. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.
Hampel, Trevor. "Do Birds Have Sense of Smell?" Trevor's Birding. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2015. <http://www.trevorsbirding.com/do-birds-have-sense-of-smell/>.
"Great Images from Bigstock." Morguefile.com Free Stock Photos. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.